Exploring Group Work on Open-Ended Geometrical Tasks: Face-to-Face and Online

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the relationships between group work on open-ended geometrical tasks and the physical and social environments in which they take place. Two groups of twelfth grade students worked on two open-ended geometry tasks. One group worked face-to-face (f-f), and one worked synchronously online. Products of the group work were analyzed in terms of fluency and flexibility. Findings indicated that the environments affected aspects of group work such as responsiveness and gesturing. Students in the online group were able to work simultaneously on the first task producing greater fluency than the f-f group. On the second task, students in the f-f group used gestures, contributing to attentiveness and imagination, leading to greater flexibility. Furthermore, the task and its presentation interact with both the physical and social environments playing a part in the production of solutions.